


i try to imagine how your name would sound

by mandjalorian



Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Language, Mandalore, Mandalorian Culture, Mando'a, no y/n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:00:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22265242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mandjalorian/pseuds/mandjalorian
Summary: Just a tiny ficlet about Mando thinking about you more than he's let on. You’ve been pestering Mando for translations of all kinds of things from Galactic Basic to Mando’a, and this is where your train of thought takes you.
Relationships: The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV) & Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/Reader, The Mandalorian (The Mandalorian TV)/You
Comments: 12
Kudos: 153





	i try to imagine how your name would sound

“I wonder what my name is in Mando’a.” You mused curiously, out of breath as you followed the Mandalorian out of the muggy jungle.

“ _Nari nau'ul_.” He responded without hesitation.

You stopped trudging across the jungle ground. It took the Mandalorian a moment to realize you were no longer following him and a moment longer to realize his mistake.

He blushed underneath the helmet, though you couldn’t see that.

“Is it a direct translation?” You wondered, watching his visor carefully. He was looking in another direction though.

“No.” His modulated voice came out statically and stiff.

You paused, giving him time to fill in the rest.

Instead- “We have to get back to the ship.” He said dismissively, turning to keep walking. You hurried to follow, your own cheeks warm now.

Several yards away, he finally spoke again, and this time his voice was measured, calculating. “In Galactic Basic, your name means moving rays of light.” He paused, then- “I was curious…”

He trailed off. You were completely flustered now. You opened your mouth to speak then faltered once, twice.

“You looked up the meaning of my name in Galactic Basic?”

He didn’t speak but nodded stiffly, almost imperceptibly.

“Then translated it to Mando’a?”

He froze in his steps, the Razor Crest within view now. He nodded again, slower this time.

“Why?” You were breathless with hope.

He sighed deeply. But once you’d gotten to know each other, he’d never denied you an answer he could provide.

“I wanted- to know…what your name would sound like in the language of my people.” His voice was heavy with emotion.

“Why?” Your voice had fallen to an almost inaudible whisper but you knew he’d heard you because he’d tilted his helmet as if deep in thought as to the answer.

Finally- “Because I needed to put a name to the feeling…that I get when I think of you.” That was more candor than you’d ever expected from the Mandalorian.

The sentiment nearly brought tears to your eyes. You’d never thought such an admission would cross the Mandalorian’s lips, though you’d hoped against all hope, especially as your feelings grew.

He turned finally and took the three steps he needed until he was in front of you. He lifted a hand as if to touch your face then seemed to think better of it.

“I thought- that…you might already know.” That was the most uncertain you’d ever heard the bounty hunter.

“Yes.” Your voice broke on the syllable. You took his hand from where it had fallen to his side and put it to your face where he cradled your cheek.

You opened your mouth to speak then stopped yourself.

Almost absently, he ran his thumb over your lips. “What?” He asked and he sounded suddenly unsure.

“What name can I put to the feeling I have for you?” His grip of your face tightened slightly, and you covered your hand with his.

He rested his helmet lightly against your forehead then. “Din.” And you heard the smile in his voice.

“Din.” You breathed back, sure that this was the happiest you’d ever been.

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on Tumblr with same user name! This was inspired by a work called "Two Worlds" by Lang Leav. Wanted to explore Din brooding in the silence of the cockpit and thinking about reader so much, that it gets so intense that he has to start thinking about it in Mando’a. Having grown up bilingual, I feel like this would matter to Din particularly because… _saying your lover’s name in your mother tongue is…something that can be so intimate_. And given that he might have trouble, at first at least, articulating these kinds of feelings to someone else…it seemed right to me that he might try to make sense of those feelings in a way that didn’t make sense at first to the other person. Even though Mando’a isn’t his native language, it’s clear throughout the show that the Mandalorian culture is sacred to him, so figuring out his feelings for someone through their name…something that, again, Mandalorians hold so sacred that they don’t tell it to just anyone…seemed like a beautiful way to approach his stance toward romance? And again this quote is what inspired me and it just spoke to me personally but also I could see how it would translate over to someone like Din or the Mandalorians…


End file.
